Let Me Tell You A Story
by broniewenny
Summary: Kate explains to Castle just how much his books helped her get through her mothers death and how he gave her hope for a future she couldn't even have imagined. May be slightly ooc for Kate.


so here is my new story :) i hope you enjoy it! i have no idea where its set time wise but you can just have it wherever you want! this idea has been bugging me for a while now so i just had to get it out, enjoy!

xoxo bronwen

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><p>"Ugh, I give up!"<br>His wife looked up startled from her place curled up on their office couch. She'd taken to spending her nights relaxing with one of Castle's many novels, which she wasn't ashamed to admit she'd read most of countless times, while he sat at his laptop creating the latest hairbrained murder case for Nikki and Rook to solve. The constant tapping of keys calmed her; it was the sound of home.  
>"Babe what are you talking bout?"<br>"Nikki! I just can't - I don't know what to do anymore!"

He dropped his head into his hands while his wife marked her page and walked over to stand by his desk. She stopped by the edge, waiting until he looked up before she spoke.  
>"What's going on? Why can't you do it?"<br>"It's just - it's crazy Kate! I keep messing up the stories, I don't - the amount of times I've written your name instead of Nikki's, it's crazy! With us, it's so much more than the books now and wrapping my head around it, even after all this time together; I still feel like its a dream and that one day I'll wake up and you'll be gone. I don't want to live in their world anymore, their story isn't important but ours is, its one of the most important things in my life and - and I want to just - I - I want the whole world to know about our love story, how much we've overcome, how we're still here fighting for each other. I just wish I could fill book upon book with our adventures, Caskett saving the world and kicking ass too!"

He waggled his eyebrows at her as she chuckled at the last comment, his use of their couple name bringing up memories of their time at the Hamptons back when they were still hiding their relationship from everyone at the precinct.  
>"I mean, I know you love my books but is it time for me to just stop cos I don't - he took a deep breath to calm himself - I don't know how much longer I can do it?"<p>

"Castle, can I tell you something and I just want you to listen, kay, so can you just sit quiet for a minute for me?"  
>Rick nodded; his eyes boring into hers giving her his full attention.<br>"Ok, so there was once this young girl, pre law at Stanford on her way to becoming the first female chief justice when a tragedy struck...her mom was murdered and her whole world got turned upside down; everything she thought she knew just crumbled around her. She found herself alone and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her dad lost his way for a while leaving her with nobody to lean on. "

Castle watched as Kate's eyes clouded over, he knew just how hard it was for her to talk about her mother's death; just how raw it still was even after all these years, even after getting the justice her mom deserved, things would still never be the same without her. He wished so much that he could change what had happened that day but then she wouldn't be the Kate she was today, made stronger and braver by her mom's murder and though he was a big believer in fate, the chances of meeting and falling in love with Kate would be slim. He couldn't imagine a life without the detective by his side, the pain he felt from such a thought indescribable.  
>As Kate cleared her throat, he was made aware that she had stopped talking while he had gotten lost in his thoughts; finally being brought out of his head by her staring at him. His eyes focused once again on the beauty before him...<p>

"You okay there babe?"  
>There was a slight teasing tone to her voice but there was no hint of anger at his lack of attention.<br>"Yeah I'm fine...just thinking. Carry on please."  
>He smiled in encouragement and reached out his hand which she grasped tightly between both of hers, his thumb stroking her palm. She visibly relaxed at the contact, nodding her head as she fell back into where she had left off.<br>"As I was saying, there she was, this fragile 19 year old with no idea what she was going to do or what her next step was gonna be. She was struggling to imagine a life without the most important person of her life being there to cheer her on; she thought without her there everyday she would forgot the woman who raised her, would lose that connection. But one day, she decided to go through her mom's things, she missed her and this made her feel close to her somehow wherever she was.

She stopped for a minute, seeking out Castle's eyes to ensure he was still following her tale.  
>"I found a box of her books, my dad must've packed them up at some point and right at the top was one of yours. She must've been reading it before that night...she had a bookmark in her place; the edges all ragged and dogeared as if she'd read it countless times, not exactly a surprising thing."<br>She laughed out loud, thinking back to times when she found her mother, head stuck in a book, oblivious to the world around her, intent on finishing, the story too important to put off until later.  
>"I started reading through them, just skimming at first until I found little notes in the margins and found myself lost in her words mingled with the authors. I started reading them one after the other, falling deeper into the world of fiction but I didn't care cos somehow I felt closer to her; I imagined her curled up with whichever book I was reading at the time and couldn't help but feel safe like she was there with me."<p>

Kate looked up to Castle's dumbfounded expression, she never shared this much information about her mother let alone herself before. She felt oddly relieved, like a weight had been lifted by her opening up to Castle.  
>"I even came to one of your signings. I was a rookie at the time, made Will stand in line with me for about an hour just to meet you."<p>

Castle looked up in shock. He'd never known she'd been to a signing. He knew she was a fan but to have met her, signed her book too and not remember her; he couldn't imagine it.  
>"You came to a signing?"<br>"Yeah I came to a signing but I looked quite different back then, you probably wouldn't have remembered me."

Castle sat quietly watching his wife, his shock still evident on his face.  
>"Your words are important Castle. These stories you tell, people need them in their lives, they help them get through tough times and you can't just stop writing them. Your fans need to keep hearing the stories. Nikki and Rook, they are our story. Without them we'd never have been partners for all these years and I owe everything to them because they brought me you and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. You saved me in more ways than you know; you're words brought purpose back to my life, they helped me see beyond the pain of my mothers death. They brought me out of a very dark place, I was spiralling and the only thing that could save me were your books. They gave me a future Rick and that was all you. You gave me hope for the first time in a long while and I wouldn't have had it any other way babe because what we have is something special and you are the most important thing in my life now and I need the world to know that."<p>

Castle watched his wife, pure love in his eyes, this woman was incredible and he never knew just how much his words had influence her world. He couldn't do much but shake his head, trying to form words but his brain refused to cooperate. Instead he settled for kissing her, his lips soft and gentle against hers, pouring all the love he felt into that one bittersweet connection. His hands cupped her jaw as he deepened the kiss, his tongue meeting hers in a slow dance. As he pulled away, he saw Kate's emotions written all over her face, all the love he felt for her, it was all there and more.  
>"I love you Kate."<br>"I love you too Rick, so so much."

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><p>please leave me a review telling me what you thought of it xoxo<p> 


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